Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-12-09
THEsDAM OF HOTSPUR, 2:24, AND
EIEIY.RACE TROITER.

FIFTY-RACE TROTTER.
Hotspur. late Col. Maynard, b. G.,
foaled 1861; got by Ethan Allen dam by
Abdallah. See Calendar]. Owned, 1869,
by Col. w. 5. Russell, Boston, Mass
CWallaces Register Vol. l, p. l67.
Hotspur, (Col. Maynard. 2, g b. G.,
foaled 1861 got by Ethan Allen dam by
True John, son of Harris Hambletonian.
Bred by Ben E. Bates of Boston; owned,
1869, by Col II. 5. Russell, Boston, Mass.
Record, "a, Corrected from vol. ID
(Wallace's Register, Vol. 4, p. 209
1t will be noticed that in this beautiful
mess of ignorance no knowledge is pre-
tended. There was none to pretend. No
body had any that had anything to do
with tho, the shadow of any; or, if
they did, it was so shadowy that it was
carefully kept in the background. The
cheek with which Mr. Wallace launches
a pedigree that he knows nothing about
is infinite. And in this case he has made
his customary moral, that it was neces-
sary to get the Messenger blood (Which
is got in the recorded pedigree), for Eth
an Allen to produce his best trotters.
Will Mr.. Wallace tell us who bred this
dam of Hotspur? viii he tell us when
she was foaled? Will he tell us what the
grandam was: If he doesn't know any
of these, will he tell us what he does
know about it?
1t has been in evidence for some time
in the REGISTER that the dam of Hotspur
was lightish bay mare, with black
points, about l5-l, $50 to 1000 lbs, n
Morgan-shaped mare with good neck and
clean head, taken to Boston by Fred
Plumley of New Haven, VT, and sold to
Sam Moore of Boston and by him to Col.
Maynard, who bred her to Ethan Allen
and raised from her by him three colts,
one of them Hotspur. For two years we
have been trying TO find where Fred
Plumley got this mare, seeing from the
start that she was Morgan-built mare,
and remarking that True John didn't get
that kind. At last, through son of Mr.
Plumley, who sent for us for his fathers
diaries and looked them through. we
learnt that in 1856 Mr.. Plumley bought
two bay mares-one of Charley Smith of
Bristol Flats, for which he paid $3.50, and
one of Alex Hope of East Middlebury,
for which he paid Sl65. The mare bought
of Charles Smith is described to us by
Ezra Smith of New Haven, a relative of
Charles, who knew her well and remem-
bered well Mr.. Plumley's buying her as
In oh .
good-sized head and broad over the hips.
This was not the trim-shaped mare which
was the dam of Hotspur. Alex. Hope, as
well as Chas. Smith, is dead, but Alex.
was blacksmith, and always had good
horse. We saw at glance that the beau
tiful little mare probably belonged to
him. His brother, Louis, also black
smith, lives at Middlebury. We saw him.
He did not remember Alex. selling to Fred
Plumley, but he said Alex. had two bay
mares about that time; one of them was
darker than the other, little frisky, and
this one was sold to Stephen Goodale of
Brandon. He got her of Hiram Sessions,
Middlebury. The other was about l5-l,
lighter bay, black points, no white unless
few hairs in forehead, an excellent,
clean-built Morgan mare, foaled 1851,
bred by Ed. Morton, Middlebury, got by
Hale's Green Mountain Morgan, dam a
Morgan mare of about same size and col
or, bought by Mr.. Morton of Mr.. Hedden
of Salisbury. Mr.. Morton sold this young
mare in the spring when four years old
to Mr.. Bradley of Salisbury Plains, for
$40, and he traded her the next spring.
1856, for black horse to Alex. Hope.
Alex. kept her till fall or near that time,
and sold her, Mr.. Louis Hope thought, to
Fred Plumley, anyway he sold her that
fall. That he did sell her to Mr.. Plumley
is certain from the fact that he had nc
other bay mare at that time and Mr.
Plumley's diary states that in September
1856, he bought a bay mare of Alex. Hope,
paying Sl65.
This mare was the dam of Hotspur,
lengthening his stride, and giving him
the staying qualities that Mr.. Wallace
talks about with such infinite gusto in
connection with his paper pedigrees, that,
to him, have been as good as the genuine
What has Mr.. Wallace to say about